This blog describes how we used mirror therapy to eliminate my husband's pain from Anesthesia Dolorosa and how we were able to get him off of Neurontin as a result. We have arranged the entries so that you can read from top to bottom if you are new to the blog. The links on the right should also make it easy to skip around.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL BLOG. FOR UPDATES...

This is the original blog and the best place for those new to the site to begin. For updates, that are actually arranged like a blog, please click here: http://anadmiracleongoing.blogspot.com

Pictures of How to Set Up the Mirror Therapy

When you look at these pictures for the first time, you may have the same visceral reaction that I had when I saw the paneling in this room. Please keep in mind that 1. this is our summer cottage 2. we did not install the panelling 3. we've had better things to do than paint it over.

Click on the images themselves to see much larger versions of them.

this is the basic set-up: the chair, the mirror, the piece of paper to cover the reversed reflection

David sitting in the chair "in position"

With the pillows on his lap (we later added another one for slightly more height)

With the mirror "in position"

Another view with the mirror from the side and closer up

A view with the mirror from behind David's headthis is usually what I saw as I did the massageyou are looking at two non-reversed mirror images of his facefrom where he is sitting he can see his whole face twice

This is a diagram I drew for someone who was having a hard time interpreting the photographs.

Posted by
beth taylor-schott

4 comments:

Hi ElizabethI'm very interested in what you husband sees in the mirror. I use mirror therapy in a way that my bad side is hidden and I can see the reflection of my good side. I exercise the good side while watching the mirror image. It remaps the brain and in my case relieves chronic pain.What you are doing seems different. IS your husband seeing only his good side or is he watching you massage his trouyblesome side?

If you look at my blog and click on "mirror threrapy" tag to the left of the blog you'll see some pics of what I do.You might have to scroll through though.jeiseahttp://www.crps-rsd-a-better-life.blogspot.com

I see exactly. I treated face pain in a similar but slightly different way. I used a hinged makeup mirror in a similar way except that I put one mirror actually on my face, down mid-line. Picture this if you will - one mirror is at right angles to the face but pressed against the face such that half a nose, mouth face is behind the non mirror side and half is reflected in the mirror. The mirror image of the good side of the face is reflected in the hinged mirror also giving an illusion of a whole face.I massaged my face and pulled faces etc as the exercise giving both tactile and visual input.

I used this to treat severe face pain, thinking it was pain from complex regional pain syndrome (which is brain driven much like phantom limb pain and for which I successfully use mirror therapy. The pain would go completely but each time returned. I eventually went to a dentist only to discover I had an abscess and because I'd neglected it I lost my tooth. The point is that mirror therapy works on acute pain as well. However if pain returns each time with a vengeance it's wise to look for underlying pathology.This is a link to July 2007 when I first tried this mouth mirror trick.http://crps-rsd-a-better-life.blogspot.com/2007/07/mirror-therapy-works-again.htmlHere's a link to a copy of the mirror I used.

I'm posting about your success with mirror therapy. now. Just as an extra I had cardiac symptoms etc and dysautonomia. I'm in remission and all symptoms are gone, BP heart normal. Mirror therapy helped me greatly but Yamamoto New Scalp acupuncture was what finally gave me remission in stoppe dthe heart stuff.yiyan

@ jeisea--he sees both sides, but since the image is non-reversed, it tricks his brain into thinking that the good side is the bad side and that he has feeling there too. will definitely check out the blog. we found out about it through an article by Atul Gawande. see a later post for information about that...looks from your later posting that you found that part? Also sounds like you did the massage on yourself? This is key because many people do not have someone who can do it for them. Also sounds like it at least temporarily helped a non-sensor syndrome condition? That is also key as it means it could have some effect on TGN as well. I will go check out your blog and try to email you directly...